• The Weekender
  • Posts
  • HomePod beta brings Dolby Atmos and lossless music

HomePod beta brings Dolby Atmos and lossless music

August 14, 2021

Dolby Atmos and lossless audio sound awesome and are heading to a HomePod near you (finally).

In other news:

  • Learn how to put a vaccine passport on your iPhone.

  • We review the ultimate USB dock, which includes multiple USB-C ports, unlike its rivals.

  • Cable management is an under-appreciated secret of a great setup. Check the post for details.

-- Leander Kahney, EIC.

News and opinion

Dolby Atmos (spatial audio) and lossless music are on their way to HomePod and HomePod mini. Both features are available for testing in Apple’s latest HomePod 15 beta, rolled out to registered developers on Thursday. We’ll show you how to enable them.

The long wait for redesigned 16-inch and 14-inch MacBook Pro models is probably nearing its end. A reliable source for Apple info says these Macs will arrive in September at the latest, and will come with mini-LED screens.

Hidden code in iOS 15 confirms AirPods Max and AirPods Pro will be tied to an Apple ID to enable Find My tracking. The upgrade will allow users to locate missing AirPods, even when they’re not connected to another Apple device.

Fantasian, which mixes handmade sets with computer-generated characters, will soon be updated with new content that’ll double the amount of gametime available. Fantasian is the creation of Hironobu Sakaguchi, who also made the classic Final Fantasy series.

How-tos

Take a few minutes and add a secure digital vaccine certificate to Apple Wallet on your iPhone. We’ll show you how.

macOS Monterey includes the same Quick Note feature that’s baked into iPadOS 15. Using it is incredibly simple, and it’s a great way to quickly jot down important information — such as phone numbers, email addresses, and appointments — that you don’t want to forgot.

Apple’s newest iOS and iPadOS 15 beta, rolled out to registered developers on Tuesday, gives you the ability to automatically disable notifications when screen sharing. The toggle ensures others cannot see your incoming alerts. Here’s how to activate the block on iPhone and iPad.

Deals

At a time when people are on their devices more than ever, support professionals and their services are experiencing some of the highest surges in demand. The Apple Certified Support Professional macOS 11 Course is the perfect learning tool to help you make the jump.

The 3-in-1 Wireless Fast Charge Station can power your phone, wireless earbuds, and smartwatch at the same time, and it’s also on sale for $42.99.

If you’re constantly on the lookout for accessories that make your experience with Apple products even better, look no further than this roundup of premium AirTag, AirPods, and Apple Watch accessories.

Reviews

CODA, this year’s Sundance Film Festival hit, is here to add some family-friendly laughs and musical feel-goodery to Apple TV+. Will you enjoy this award-winning film about a teen with a deaf family? Very probably.

I’m a fan of USB-C hubs for Mac and iPad but they have a real limitation: they can’t include multiple USB-C ports. For that you need to turn to Firewire. OWC’s dock lets you plug in multiple USB-C accessories, including a monitor. And there’s Firewire port so you can connect really high-speed accessories. On top of that, there’s five USB-A ports, two memory card readers, a headset jack and even a digital audio port. The OWC Thunderbolt 3 Dock is ready to be at the center of a very elaborate office setup.

Setups

At a glance you can see that Redditor iEdwinT’s computer setup is spare and neat. You might call it elegant. How does he do it? That’s really down to what you can’t see — a fairly simple but effective cable management operation going on under the desk.

Given the dominance of PCs in the gaming world for various reasons, it’s refreshing to see somebody purpose-building a Mac computer setup for gaming. Sweden-based Redditor Raka_ny put one together with an M1 Mac mini, an M1 MacBook Air and assorted peripherals.

Sometimes we go looking for a cool computer setup to write about and end up wowed by a mere accessory. In this case, it’s a 3D-printed stand for five Apple products, styled to look sort of like a cross between a Mac Pro and a Pro Display XDR.

Tweet o' the week